Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope that you and your families have been enjoying the beautiful Spring sunshine and being able to spend some time outdoors. From next Monday 1 June, the number of children attending school will increase with the focus continuing to be on providing places for the children of key-workers and those who are safer at school than at home. Unlike mainstream schools, we are not required to prioritise certain year groups. We are required to maintain social distancing whenever possible. Staff have access to personal protective equipment when they need to work with children within the 2 metre distance eg: for personal care. Also, to maintain social distancing, classrooms that might normally accommodate up to 12 children, can now only accommodate 4 (or in some cases 5), so it is clear that we cannot welcome all children back to school. Thank you to all parents who continue to be able to keep their children at home, although we appreciate that this is not easy, having already been doing that for 2 months!

There are some other ways that you can continue to help to keep all of our children, families and staff  safe. Please:

1. If you are picking up or collecting your child from school, first check the foyer through the glass doors  and only enter when there is space to maintain 2m distancing once inside.

2. Wash your children's clothes at 60 degrees and always send them in fresh clothes each day. (School Uniform is entirely optional at this time.)

3. Avoid sending in any soft toys. If you do send them in, they should also be washed daily at 60 degrees.

4. Do keep your child at home at least until the end of June if they have been identified as being extremely clinically vulnerable.

5. Do not send your child in if they have any symptoms of illness, especially a new continuous cough, fever or changes to the senses of taste or smell. If symptoms develop at school, your child will be supervised in a room by themselves until you arrive to take them home. They must then self-isolate for 14 days and until symptoms have passed or until they test negative to COVID-19. Testing is now available to anyone with symptoms, including children under 5 years of age.

6. Do not send your child into school if anyone else in the household has the symptoms for COVID-19. Isolation should again be for 14 days.

All absences from school will be treated as "authorised".

I know it is difficult to continually be bombarded with instructions, but abiding by these guidelines does help to keep everyone safe by limiting the spread of Coronavirus.

Teachers will continue to phone on a weekly basis, all families of children not in attendance, to check on their safety and whether their needs have changed. They will also continue to provide resources and suggestions for learning at home.

Should you have any questions, if you need additional support or if your circumstances change, please contact the school office by phone on 0121 476 9478 or email at enquiries@victoria.bham.sch.uk

Please note that we still do not have any NHS enteral feeders, nurses or physiotherapists at school. This may change over the next few weeks, but at present we have none.